By Corey Graham 2.0

What a question! There are a lot of tricks to the trade and tactics people use to get quick followers. However they all have to be based on the core values of finding friends we all know. Some of them might abuse it, but it’s pretty much based on the same principles. I break these down as -

- Get attention and show your valuable.
- Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. (The Golden Rule)

If you want real humans following you, rather than fake accounts or spam generated accounts, you have to be golden.

Here are some tips for growing your followers the practical way. Oh and let me be blunt, this will take time! Even if you find some time saving tactics. It will still take time and energy to get done.

Final thing before I get directly into the practical advice. Think about an entertainer local or international that's really loved. Actually it could be anyone you notice who tends to have lots of friends and people around them.
Ask yourself, what makes people want to be around them?

While you chew on that, let me throw the practical advice at you.

Keep the Golden Rule in mind - do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

Engage people - This is pretty simple follow people on twitter. Ask questions to specific people, esp. your key customers. How do you feel when a company you love asks your opinion publicly?

Sharable content - Create content that people can and are willing to share at the click of a button.

Keeping it updated - Make sure people can trust to have the latest information from your social media.

Get listed - place your url wherever is appropriate. Your Email signature and your directory is a good place to start.

Network - Just like you would at a cocktail party, go and meet the people you think would be interested in what you are doing.

Good luck with growing your followers. Be Golden.

Corey Graham 2.0 - Blogger At CoreyKGraham.me/bizblog and Director of Connections & Chief Conversationalist at DrenalinProductions.biz

By Corey Graham 2.0

Today, whenever you hear about social media and business, it usually tends to be in a positive light. Tech savvy marketers and entrepreneurs are all evangelizing the benefits of social media. However, I wanted to take a look at the mistakes that could cripple your business.

Shouting at Your Potential and Current Customers

This is one I put high on the list because it is fundamental mistake most people make with implementing their social media marketing. Social media is about conversation and it works best when you are being conversational. The humans beings you are trying to reach enjoy good thoughtful interaction. Using social media to blast persons with your marketing messages and abusing their inbox with a constant influx of sales copy type emails is a quick way to erode the possibility of having a building a long term successful relationship with your customers.

This is following on from the point above. I know you might not intentionally set out insult your audience, however if you are not taking to time to listen and understand your audience you might very likely underestimating their intelligence i.e. their opinions and ideas do not matter. If you are doing that, then you are very likely to insult them as you try to engage them through social media. Insulted people are bad for business.

This is important because each social network / medium has its own peculiarities. In some cases it might mean there might be a different standard of communications certain types of messages and in others it might mean you have a different type of person interacting with you on the different networks. Whatever it is, its important to understand the difference and communicate accordingly.

Now this is a shortcut, but don't overdo it. Interacting with human like a robot is simply not going to cut it. There are a few situations where an automated message would be extremely helpful to everyone involved. However if you overuse automated messages, it can easily hurt you, and very badly. The worse case with this situation is the social network flags you as a spammer and deletes you.

People new to social media get carried away trying to attract new friends and followers not realising that their current list is where the gold mind is really located. The people already on your list can attract many new followers / followers by sharing with others how great you are. The thing is though; if you are not paying attention to them and making sure they think you are great! It takes just one of them to start the movement! Work smart!

Hope this opens your eyes to managing your social media marketing strategy more effectively. 

By Corey Graham 2.0

Last week, we took a look at five ways to jazz up your social media profile. Here, we offer five more suggestions. 

1) Add like-minded people - Network 

In building up your profile and fan base it’s important to go out there and network with the people you want to attract. You might need to be the one to introduce yourself to them even that means you are the one to invite them to your page on Facebook or follow them on Twitter. You can join groups in your industry and choose a few people periodically to reach out to and find out more about them.

3) Easy to remember custom URL

I suggest creating a URL that is easy to remember. If you wish to add your profiles to your business cards, develop a unique URL that can fit on business cards or email signatures. This URL also helps persons find you easily. 

4) Share good content & keep fresh

Seek to share good videos and articles that are relevant to the people you want to attract to your profile. Share a mixture of new developments and older acomplishments as both help to build a connection with followers. Great, engaging and consistent content keeps you on everyone’s mind. 

5) Participate in Group discussion and activities

‘The internet doesn't require your permission, just your participation’, Stephen Pierce

Your profile is the thing that identifies you, and allows you to interact and share with people around the world. It’s important to remember that you are a part of what is happening on these networks ... if you want to be. Don't allow yourself to become a spectator and just watch what is happening. You should aim to participate. You can interact with others as I started in tip #5, by adding comments on your friends pictures and statuses etc. You can take this one step further and you might want to lead a movement online or lead a petition. 

By Corey Graham 2.0

Twitter does not give you alot of space to write a very descriptive biography, however, you can communicate some of this info via your image as done by PixLD.

Your status messages and tweets are great tools for attracting persons with similar interests as well as customers and business associates. By sharing your thoughts and actions you are building a relationship with your followers which enhances their buy-into your product or service.

Stay tuned for more suggestions in Part 2.